Never Lie to a Detective
by PerfectNonsense16
Summary: After waking up in Castle's bed Kate panics and tries to cover up any evidence she had been there, hoping that he would wake up thinking it was all just a dream. Unfortunately for her Castle is a better detective than she gives him credit for. Now it's up to him to make her face her own feelings but given how stubborn she can be he's going to have to be a little creative.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is just a story that I got stuck in my head and it wouldn't stop bugging me until I wrote it. This doesn't really take place at any certain time but it's supposed to be back before all the serious stuff started happening. I know that technically they are already together but I love writing the how they get together stories so even though the episode Always was one of the highlights of my life for right now I'm going to pretend that it never happened. Anyway hope you guys like it. :D**

The flashing numbers of the alarm clock had barely hit two am when Kate Beckett found herself gently stirring awake to the sound of thunder cracking outside her window. Droplets of water pounded against the glass in sync, creating a gently humming that filled the void between echoing roars of thunder. She stretched out lazily against the silk sheets that draped loosely on her body, letting herself feel the humming of her own sore body as she did. Releasing a small groan, she buried her face further into her pillow, wiling herself to fall back into the sleep that she hadn't fully woken up from in the first place. After a week of never ending strings of cases she needed all the sleep she could get and wasn't about to pass up the chance to get a couple more hours of rest. Feeling her eyes droop closed, her fingers played with the cool silk sheets beside her as she let herself succumb to the lure of sleep once again.

Then in an instant her eyes were open. She didn't have silk sheets. She glanced down. And if memory served, her sheets weren't blue either. She felt her heartbeat pickup, the fog of sleep long gone from her head now replaced by a state of alertness. Letting her eyes adjust to the light, she scanned the dimly lit room around her for the first time. There wasn't much, a little black nightstand beside the bed and the sharp outline of a dresser against the wall to the left, but it was enough to tell her that she was definitely not in her apartment.

It was only then that she felt his body heat radiating onto her back, something that her semiconscious mind had noticed before but that she only just become fully aware of. His body was close, curled protectively around hers, one arm draped across her stomach and the other under her head, serving as her pillow. A shiver coursed through her as his arms tightened, pulling her bare back against his chest in the process. His noise buried in her curls as he shifted and she could feel his warm breath hitting the nape of her neck, causing goose bumps to spread in its wake.

Her head was resting lightly against his chest, allowing her to hear the gentle pulsing of his heartbeat against her ear. It was a relaxing tempo; just a slow enough thumping that told her he must have still been asleep. As carefully as she could she turned around in his arms, and although she already knew who it was without having to look she couldn't help the feeling of shock that struck her when she came face to face with Richard Castle.

She froze at the sight of him, only taking the time to let her eyes darted up to his to confirm that he was in fact asleep. Only after finding them closed did she allow her muscles to relax to some extent. She stayed there for a minute or two, letting her eyes roam his face, studying him the same way he usually did her. It felt strange, staring at him like that, but she couldn't find the will to turn away.

There was something different about his face, softer, more content maybe, and she could have sworn she could see traces of a smile in his eyes even when closed. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, still tousled from where she had run her fingers through it the night before and his jaw hung agape, his lips parted slightly in a lazy smile. If it weren't for the pounding in her chest she might be tempted to think that, in this state, he looked kind of adorable. She hadn't seen him this peaceful looking since she had woken up next to him during the tiger smuggling case.

On reflex, her eyes flashed down to check his wrist for gleaming silver of handcuffs and only after finding them bare did it fully hit her. They hadn't been kidnapped or knocked out, or gone undercover. They had slept together. She had had sex with Richard Castle and had woken up in his arms, in his bed. She let her eyes wander down his arms to his bare chest and a blush crept up on her cheeks at the sight. Correction, make that woken up in a very much naked Richard Castle's arms.

Then the panic came flooding back. They hadn't talked about it they hadn't planned it but somehow _it_ had happened. She paused for a second. How the hell did it happen? She thought back to earlier that night, how they had been having a movie night like they had countless times before, only this time something had been different.

This time when his hand had accidently covered hers as he sat down he hadn't pulled back. Instead they had both looked up, gazes locking and in an instant he had been on her, his lips devouring her the way his eyes usually did. And she had kissed back. Apparently after all this time a single lingering touch had been all they needed to push them over the edge.

The next instant her back had been pressed against the couch, and he was hovering over her, his lips hot against her neck while his hands had been everywhere his mouth was not. Then they had been on the bed in the same position minus several items of clothing, the details of how they had gotten there lost in the lust filled haze they had been in. The thought of what had happened after left her body tingling all over.

A sudden rush of desire hit her, sending a surge of warmth to her stomach and the urge to kiss him awake for round two or possible even round three hit her. It was only then that she realized she had no idea what to do with herself. With anyone else she wouldn't have hesitated to do just that, knowing perfectly well that the next morning they would go back to living their separate lives, but this was different. This was Castle. Annoying, childish Castle, who had been her partner for three years and who had been her best friend, maybe even something more, for nearly as long.

Her head throbbed, resulting partially due to what little amount of sleep she had gotten that night and partially to the sudden urgency to face the subject she had buried for over three years. It was an interesting question; did she feel something more for him? More importantly did he even have feeling for her? Sure he had lusted after her, he had made that painstakingly clear from the first moment he had met her to the way he looked at her every day, not to mention the sex scenes in Heat Wave that he had written practically about her, but lust wasn't the same thing as love. In fact the more she thought about it the more likely it seemed. The writer in him had wanted to conquer the challenge sleeping with his muse would bring, and she had finally given it to him.

Her throat tightened without her permission and she had to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall. She shook her head. She was being ridiculous. She had known what this would have meant from the beginning, it wasn't exactly new information, so then why was it hurting so much.

Worse of all she knew even though he had gotten her it wouldn't stop him from showing up at the precinct, wouldn't stop him from following her around all day with a smug look of satisfaction that would remind her daily that she had given him what he wanted. Of course he wouldn't purposely gloat over her, he was too much of a good guy to do that, but his eyes would betray his true thoughts whether he meant for them to or not.

Even if, by some miraculous display of restraint, he were able to pretend it had never happened at the precinct, she knew there was no way around acknowledging it when he woke up in the morning with her in his bed. She briefly wondered how he would handle the situation when he did wake. Would he try and subtly hit that she should leave, make some half hearted excuse about needing to head out for a meeting with his publisher, or would he just head straight for a shower and expect her to show herself out. Either way she didn't want to know. She no longer found herself unsure what do next because while she may not know what his reaction would be, given the likely options she wasn't exactly planning on sticking around long enough to find out.

Her previous desire to stay wrapped in his embrace rapidly morphed into the need to get as far away from him as possible before he woke. So she delicately detached his arm from around her waist, slipping away from his side as she did. She kept her eyes glued to him the whole time, looking for any possible sign that he might be waking but his face remained passive, coated in sleep. When she reached the edge of the bed, she slipped one leg from under the sheets and extended it to the floor. As her foot hit the smooth wooden panels, she transferred her weight onto it, gradually moving off the bed as slowly as she could so that he wouldn't feel the shift in the mattress.

Only when she had managed to slip out of the bed completely without disturbing him did she begin breathing normally again. Turning from his sleeping form, she started the task of gathering her stray clothes from around the room, putting them on as she went. Secretly she wondered how they had wound up such odd places in their haste to throw them aside but was quick to derail that line of thinking. The last thing she needed right now was to focus on that night even more than she already was. If she did she might be tempted to do something stupid like crawl back into bed with Castle for example.

When she was fully dressed she took the time to glance around and couldn't help but think how without her clothes laying around the room it almost looked like she hadn't even been there. She shook her head. If only it could have been that easy she mused to herself, a small wistful smile on her face. Then her smile dropped.

What if it could be that easy? What if Castle didn't have to remember that night? Of course it wasn't as if he had drunk enough last night, or at all for that matter, to literally forget it but if he were to wake up alone, with no trace that she had been there and then had seen her at the precinct acting as if nothing had happened then maybe just maybe he would think he had imagined the whole thing.

He was a writer after all. Thinking up detailed like-real situations was what he did every day. She knew firsthand from reading his books how creative he could be when it came to imagining them, or at least Nikki and Rook, having sex. In fact how many of those steamy scenes that he had written had been though up in a renegade dream.

She broke into a smile when she realized that it could actually work, that things didn't have to change because of this, didn't have to become awkward. Her mind now set she started the job of making last night disappear. It wouldn't be too hard, after all she was a detective and in a way this was just like cleaning up a crime scene. Right?

She started by backtracking and picking up his clothing as well. It was the biggest giveaway considering on a normal day he wouldn't have taken off his clothing one by one, discarding them as he made his way to his bed. Her arms filled with his clothing she scanned the room trying to figure out where he would have usually put them had he not been, well, quite as distracted. Seeing the room mostly tidy she settled on the nearby hamper, figuring that he wasn't the type to leave them crumpled up in a pile somewhere on the floor.

After dumping them into the basket, she set to work straightening the furniture they had disrupted in their path. There was a chair on its side in the corner that they had bumped into, a hanging photo off balance from where he slammed her into the wall and a few random trinkets on a table that they had managed to knock over. She gracefully moved between them, fixing each one without making so much as a sound. Once she had flipped up the last picture frame she turned her attention to the final thing that need to be fixed, the bed, or the sheets to be more specific. Everything about the way it looked at that moment screamed two people had slept in it, from the bunched up sheets to the second fresh pillow indent.

Moving swiftly, she crossed back over the room in the darkness. She took a deep breath before starting to stretch the sheets back over the mattress. She was just finishing tucking in the last corner when she felt him stir. Her muscles went ridged, and she didn't even dare to breathe as she watched him reach out toward where she had previously been, searching for her form in his sleep. Her heart broke at the sight. Part of her wanted to believe that it meant that somewhere deep in his subconscious he wanted her to be there with him, but she quickly pushed the idea from her head. She wouldn't delude herself into thinking something she knew deep down wasn't true. His eyebrow creased when his hand was met by nothing but sheets but he didn't wake. Instead he gripped the sheets more tightly around him and turned over to face the other side. He remained that way for a few more minutes before she dared to more again.

Slower than before, she finished making the bed and rearranging the pillows. When she pulled back to assess her work, she couldn't help but notice that something was off. Ideally it looked right but somehow it wasn't. The whole picture of a freshly made bed seemed like the logical choice but it was too intentionally, too perfect for it to be realistic, and he would see through it in an instant. So she had gone back and ruffled the sheets a bit so that while it looked like only one person had slept in it, it didn't give the appearance that the other side had been untouched. For good measure she had even swiped a bottle of his cologne from his bathroom to spray on the bed, masking her scent with his. Satisfied with her work, she grabbed her jacket and cautiously made her way to the door.

She was just opening his bedroom door, giving one last glance over her shoulder to make sure Castle was still asleep, when she heard the telltale signs of a TV. She froze. Vaguely she remembered Castle mentioning something about his mother and daughter getting back later that night but she never expected them to still be awake at two a.m. on a Monday morning. She crossed her fingers. Maybe they had just left the TV on, maybe they really were asleep. She peeked out the door crack and her heart sank when she caught a glimpse of red hair near the couch. Silently swearing to herself she pulled the door back enough so that it blocked her from view but not enough that she couldn't still make out the back of Martha's figure in front of the TV.

Letting out a groan, she pressed her forehead against the door. She had been so close, had everything worked out perfectly only to be foiled at the last second by his mother no less. It all felt eerily similar to high school, faced once again with the challenge of sneaking past parents. Then as if things couldn't have gotten worse she heard the echo of a door creaking open from upstairs.

She peered out again in time to see a set of slipper clad feet shuffling down the stairs.

"Gram," came Alexis' groggy voice as she reached the last step. "What are you still doing up?"

Martha shifted slightly on the couch to face her. "Couldn't sleep, figured I might as well watch some of my old movies." She took another sip of wine. "What about you? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

Alexis stifled a yawn, as she made her way across the room. "I just came down for a glass of water." She said sleepily as she made her way over to the kitchen.

It was just outside of Kate's line of vision so when Alexis curiously bent down to retrieve a discarded shirt from the floor Kate missed seeing the teen roll her eyes before dropping it onto the counter in exasperation. After filling her glass to the brim she walked back across the loft sipping from it as she did.

"Night" she mumbled to her grandmother before climbing the staircase.

A few seconds later Kate heard the sound of her bedroom door being shut, but unfortunately she was the only one who left. Martha was still camped out on sofa, glass of wine in her hand and blanket thrown over her legs, looking like she had no intention of leaving anytime soon. Kate started to panic. She couldn't stand her for forever and risk having Castle wake up to find her halfway through a failed getaway attempt, but it wasn't as if could just waltz out half dressed in front of Martha either. That had to be worse right? She nervously chewed on her lower lip as she realized that at this point getting caught by Martha may actually be the better of the two options. She was just debating whether or not to walk out and beg Martha to keep her secret when she saw her stand up from the couch. A wave of relief crashed over Kate as she saw Martha drop her wine glass on the coffee table beside the remote before heading to the upstairs bathroom.

She didn't hesitate. The second the bathroom door clicked shut she slipped from Castle's room and crept across the loft towards the front door. Her fingers had just grazed the doorknob when she caught a glimpse of the remnants of her shirt lying on the kitchen counter. She snatched it up before disappearing in to the hallway, letting the door swing shut behind her. She didn't look back.

A ray of sunlight crept across the floor of Castle's bedroom as the sun rose the next morning. It was still in the wee hours of the morning when the sliver of light fell on his face. Waking with a groan, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying unsuccessfully to block out the light. Finding his effort useless he turned over, curling his pillow protectively around his head. He stretched out and despite his annoyance at the sadly punctual sun's appearance, he smiled into his pillow as the memories of last night came flooding back to him. Finally after three years of chasing after her he had gotten together with Kate Beckett. Her walls had finally cracked enough to allow him to get what he had wanted the most, to be with the woman he loved. Lazily he reached out searching for the warm body he expected to find beside him, just needing to feel her close to him, but his hand was met with nothing but cool sheets. His eyes shot open only for him to see the bed beside him empty. His brows furrowed in confusion. Maybe she was in the bathroom, or maybe she had gotten called in on a case and hadn't wanted to wake him. His heart lurched. Or maybe she had gone home.

He sat up and scanned the rest of the room for her but she wasn't anywhere in sight. He rubbed eyes. The room didn't look anything like how he had imagined it last night; it looked the way it did every other day. His heart plummeted and his shoulders fell as the realization hit him. I had been another dream, nothing more. Letting out a sigh, he shut his eyes and let his head hit the back of the bed frame. It had all felt so real, so perfect, but of course it was too good to be true. Mentally he shook himself. He had to stop letting her get such a hold on him. It was slowly killing him to have to see her every day, knowing how he felt about her yet not being able to touch her, not being able to kiss her. The last thing he needed was to be dreaming about her too. He waited a few minutes, letting the disappointment fully sink in, before dragging himself out of bed. He sighed again, slipping on his robe as he did, and made his way to the kitchen, figuring he shouldn't sit around and mope in his bed all day.

When he got there Alexis and his mother where already waiting in the kitchen eating breakfast. He was met with twin good mornings as he walked over to join them.

"Morning" he replied, hoping he sounded more cheerful than he felt. He grabbed a cup of freshly brewed coffee before slumping down on the nearest barstool. His bad mood did not go unnoticed and while his back was turned the two women shared a knowing look. Taking a sip of his coffee, he was attempting to rub away the images from last night that were continuously taunting him when Alexis spoke up.

"Dad I thought we had an understanding," she said, not wasting anytime dancing around the subject.

He groggily peeked out from between his finger to look up at his daughter. "This may just be due to the lack of sleep but for once I actually have no idea what you are talking about."

Her shoulder fell and she rolled her eyes. "Oh come on I'm not three years old anymore. I can tell when you've had female company over," she said putting air quotes over the words company.

His ears perked and he raised his face from his hands. "Wait what? What makes you think that someone was over here?" His eyes widened. "Did you see someone?"

She sighed. "Well no but it's pretty obvious when I find a woman's shirt on the kitchen floor. Which by the way the kitchen dad? Really?" He was too excited to notice his daughter obvious disgust. His mind was racing a mile a minute.

"You saw a shirt? Where," he said, his eyes already scanning the room.

Her forehead creased in confusion. "On the kitchen floor but….."

He cut her off midsentence. "I didn't see anything." Jumping off the stool, he rounded the counter to the kitchen.

"Well I put it on the countertop by the sink when I found it."

He scanned the countertop shifting thing out of his way until he was sure he had searched everywhere. "It's not here."

She walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder. "That's weird I put it right there," she said, pointing to the counter top between the sink and coffee maker.

"When?"

"I don't know around two when I came down for a glass of water."

"Richard," his mother cut in. By this time she had made her way over to join them in the kitchen and was leaning against the kitchen island. "Really what is this all about?"

"That means she most have left sometime after two." He said mostly to himself, ignoring his mothers question completely.

"Impossible," Martha said. "I was out here on the couch all night and I didn't see anyone."

For the first time, Castle looked up from the counter and acknowledged her. He eyed her suspiciously. "You didn't fall asleep at all."

"Not a chance."

His face fell. "And you didn't leave this spot all night."

"Well," she hesitated for a split second but it was enough for him to pick up on.

"What?"

She shifted uncomfortable debating whether or not to tell him, it really wasn't that much time but…"I might have left to use the bathroom for a few seconds," she finally admitted.

His face broke out into a grin. "That feisty little minx," he said to no one in particular. Without another word he placed a quick kiss to Alexis' forehead before sprinting to his room.

Nearly sliding in his haste, he rounded the corner into his room. Without wasting anytime he made his way over to the bed. Making a quick sweep of the bed, he noted the way the sheets were fixed before he checked underneath the bed as well. Nothing. He quickly stood back up and let his eyes sweep the rest of the room, replaying the night in his head as he did. He frowned. The chair that they had knocked over was upright, the photos they had tilted where straightened out, and he didn't see so much as one stray sock on the floor. He made his way over to the hamper and could help but smile when he looked in. Oh she was definitely trying to hide that night from him. She had even put his clothes in the hamper.

He thought she might have left something behind or disrupted something but as he scanned the room he couldn't find anything. He slumped back onto his bed dejected. Nothing, there was nothing left. Really he shouldn't have expected anything less from a detective but he was hoping there would still be something. His fingers absently played with the sheets. Cherries. It should smell like cherries but even that was missing.

He let his head fall back with a groan. Opening his eyes, he stared up at the vast canvas of white that was his ceiling wondering what to do next. Maybe she really hadn't been there. Maybe he had just imagined the whole thing. It was starting to seem like the most reasonable conclusion when a flicker of light in the center of the ceiling caught his attention.

His gaze followed the direction of the light to the ground until they fell on his bedside table. His brows furrowed when he spotted the faintest line of black peeking out from the other side.

"Good heavens Richard what on earth are you doing." He heard his mother call from the next room, but he ignored her. Standing up, he made his way around the bed slowly as if worried that it may be too good to be true; that it could disappear at any moment. When he finally did round the corner he couldn't help the smile that split across his face at the sight.

"Ah ha," they heard him exclaim for the bedroom. Moments later he emerged proudly holding a sleek black cell phone.

He looked at them victoriously expecting them to share his sentiment but they simply stared at him, matching expressions of confusion plastered on their faces.

"What is that," Alexis finally spoke up.

Castle broke into a grin. "Proof."

"Proof," she echoed. "Proof of what?"

"This darling daughter is all the evidence I need to prove who had been here last night."

Martha sighed. "Richard don't tell me you don't remember who the poor girl is."

He turned to his mother, a mock look of hurt on his face. "No. I know who she is," he defended. "She didn't want me to but I know."

"Who is it then?" they asked simultaneously, but he was already grabbing his coat.

"Can't talk now. I got to go. I'll tell you if things work out." He shut the door before they had a chance to argue with him further.

The apartment was left in silence as the two stood there dumbfounded before Alexis finally broke the silence. "So what do you want to bet that was detective Beckett's phone?"

Martha sighed and started leading her back towards the kitchen. "Oh honey you'd be hard pressed to find someone stupid enough to make that bet."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I haven't exactly been in the most romantic mind set to write this for the past few weeks due to some unfortunate but sadly typical blows to my romantic life. However, yesterday I met a shy guy with baby blue eyes at a party and while I have absolutely no chance with him, he still got my heart racing enough to finally finish this chapter so you guys can thank him for that. Hope you guys like it 3**

When Beckett came into the precinct the next morning she was fighting against a headache and the anxiety that had been lurking inside her since she had left Castle's place. She had headed straight for her desk, stopping only to grab a coffee from the break room, and was admittedly relieved to find Castles chair empty. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Castle, in fact she spent the majority of the morning finding herself missing him, but at the moment she wasn't sure how to act if she did see him. Her thinking was already a little fuzzy at the moment and if she were to add Castle into the mix she wasn't sure if she would be capable of thinking at all.

As it was she hadn't been able to sleep the rest of the night after she had gotten back to her apartment and she was only running on about two hours of sleep. Well that and coffee, lots of coffee. The break room coffee was bitter, stale, and reeked of acid, far worse than the ones Castle made, but she needed something to keep her focused. Anything to keep her mind off…

"Morning" chirped a voice from behind her.

She practically choked on her sip of coffee at the sound of Castle's voice. He plopped down beside her in his chair and placed her usual cup of coffee where her failed attempt had previously been. Reluctantly she peered over her mug to find him regarding her with more amusement than usual. She narrowed her eyes at him. He was way too cheerful.

"You ok there," he asked, hiding a smile behind his own cup.

She put her cup back on the desk, and turned her attention back to the files in front of her. As nonchalantly as she could she said, "yeah why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You seem a little tense is all," he said with a shrug and left it at that. Instead of lingering on the subject he leaned back and got out his phone, presumably to play the latest Angry Birds game, leaving her to do her work in peace.

She eyed him suspiciously. He seemed to be acting relatively normal, but that's what worried her. Castle was never this well behaved. By now he usually would have made at least one snarky comment, used some type of innuendo, or pestered her about whether they had a case or not.

She glanced towards him one last time before pushing her worries away. She was being too paranoid. She had been meticulous in her cleanup to the point where there was no way he could still think that last night had happened. The fact that he hadn't even tried to bring it up just proved that.

Forcing herself to relax, she turned her back to her computer and took a sip of the fresh coffee he had brought her, welcoming the way the deep rich liquid flowed down her throat, and washed away the bitter taste of her previous cup. Eventually as the minutes passed she found herself relaxing and focusing more and more on the case in front of her rather than on the man sitting next to her.

He was surprisingly patient, letting her work in silence for nearly an hour before he finally spoke up again.

"So what exactly happened last night?" he asked offhandedly.

Halfway through a sip of coffee, this time she actually did choke a bit, but if he had noticed he didn't say anything. She dropped her cup back on the desk, figuring it probably was safer there.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.

He shook his head. "Nothing I'm just a little fuzzy on the details. I don't even remember how the movie ended."

She noticeably relaxed. He was fishing for information, trying to get a reaction from her that confirm what happened last night. She expected this, knew he wouldn't be able to let it go, but if he was asking then her plan was working. He was having doubts, looking for a tell from her, and if there was one thing Kate Beckett could do it was control her emotions.

"Jeez Castle you didn't have that much to drink last night. Think you might be going a little senile." She teased. It took her combined acting skills from years of interrogations but even he had to admit it sounded like her normal banter.

His lips tilted upward in small half smile. He knew she would be stubborn, wouldn't fold under what little pressure he had put on her but seeing her actually trying to play him was rather amusing. At least he confirmed what he already suspected; she was trying to manipulate him into thinking that last night never happened as if that was even remotely possible. He was positive that every second of that night would be forever burned into his memory but still he couldn't blame her for trying. In fact it was a very Beckett-like thing to do. He should have figured, even after Kate Beckett had given into her feelings for him it didn't mean she would actually give in.

He hadn't cracked through her wall yet but last night she had given him the perfect opening and he would be damned if he wasn't going to take it. Now it was all about how he handled it from there and if that meant going along with her little charade then he would play along, for now.

He gave her his best sarcastic laugh, giving back into their banter like usual. "Very funny detective."

She rolled her eyes at him and finally replied, "Well if memory serves you crashed less than halfway through the movie and when I left you were still out cold." Then for good measure she added "Might want to watch out for that Castle. I didn't think you were old enough that you couldn't make it through one measly movie."

He grinned at that. She was playing with fire and oh how easy it would be to catch her in it, remind her that she knew perfectly well that he wasn't exactly lacking in energy last night. However, regrettably he couldn't, not yet anyway. For now he had to walk on eggshells to keep her from panicking but that didn't mean he couldn't push her just a little more.

"Really?" He pretended to think over what she had just said. "That's weird I woke up this morning in my bed not on the couch."

He saw the briefest flash of panic in her eyes but she was quick to cover it up. She shrugged her shoulders almost managing to look indifferent had he not know better. "Guess you must have woken up enough to stumble over to your bed at some point in the night."

He nodded his head as if accepting her reasoning so she decided to take the chance and press her luck. Looking as casual as possible she added "I almost woke you up myself so I didn't have to spend the day hearing you complain about how the couch messed with your back, but you looked so happy in your sleep." She fought to keep the blush off her face. "Seemed like you must have been having a pretty good dream, didn't want to disturb you."

He barely managed to suppress his smile that time. So that was how she was planning on playing it. He knew Kate Beckett was bold when it came to her interrogations but he never thought in a million years that she would purposely remind him of that night in order to manipulate him into thinking that it was all just a dream. She had guts he would give her that. He was about to try pushing her just a little further when the shrill ringing of her desk phone cut him off.

Without hesitation she reached for it giving the caller her customary greeting, and he could have sworn that he saw the briefest flash of relief cross her face as she did.

After a few seconds she hung up and reached for her coat. "Murder on Lexington Avenue," was all she said in way of explanation as she headed for the elevator. By the time she had pressed the down button he was already at her heel trailing behind her.

The victim was one Nicole Fletcher, age 28, gunshot wound to the head. She was found dead, floating face down in the swimming pool outside a hotel she was known to frequent. The fresh pillow indents and two coffee mugs in her room seemed to indicate that she had company the night before, but the husband was out of town, and he swore that she couldn't have been having an affair without him knowing.

However adamant that her husband was on the subject, the more they got to interviewing her friends and neighbors the more apparent it had been that she had been involved in a number of affairs, none of which particularly well hidden. Meaning that either the husband was a far greater actor than he appeared to be or most likely a fight between her and her currently missing lover had been ended with a twenty two caliber handgun.

Which is why Castle was currently back at the station, staring down the no longer blank murder board, as Beckett made calls to every nearby train, and bus station to see if Clark Manson, her latest lover, had planned any unexpected trips in the last twenty four hours.

She ended her last call and made her way over to join Castle by the murder board. By the way she rubbed her temple he could already tell that the lead had turned up dry.

"No luck," he said as more of a statement than a question, but she answered anyway.

"Nothing." She plopped down on the desk beside him. He couldn't help but notice how she sat down further away from him than normal.

He leaned back, staring at the board. They couldn't really do all that much without the boyfriend. Forensics was still going through the crime scene and the husband already had a solid alibi so it seemed unlikely that it was anyone but him. He shot a sideways glance at Beckett. Brows creased in concentration, lip tugging between her teeth, she was fully absorbed on the case in front of them. He smiled. And if she was focused on the case that meant that her guard was down. Taking a deep breath, he figured now was as good a time as any.

"So I was thinking," he started. Her attention stayed focused on the board but she hummed in acknowledgment so he continued. "Considering this case is practically solved do you want to come over for another movie night tonight?"

She froze, her eyes not moving from the board, but he could tell that she wasn't really paying much attention to it anymore. For good measure he added. "I promise I won't fall asleep this time."

When she finally recovered enough to pry her eyes away from the board he made sure to look down at his phone as if he had been focusing on it and not her reaction. From the corner of his eye he saw her quickly put on a mask of indifference.

"Sorry Castle I don't think I'm going to be able to tonight. Besides we still need to actually catch our bad guy first." She smiled at him apologetically, and he tried to appear let down.

He knew she was going to say no, but she didn't have to know that. He smiled to himself. She would be saying yes one way or another after she realized her mistake.

As if on cue the elevator dinged signaling Ryan and Esposito's return. Sandwiched between them was their cuffed suspect, looking like he was itching to be anywhere but there. Beckett's eyebrows furrowed as she watched them cross the precinct and drop him off in their fist open interrogation room. The door had barely clicked closed before Beckett was on her feet and making her way over to them.

"That Clark Manson," she asked automatically.

"Yeah," Ryan said. "We picked him up an hour ago just inside city limits. By the looks of it he was making a run for it."

"Dude borrowed his grandmother's car and had his bags packed in the trunk," Esposito added.

Ryan flipped up his notebook. "They found blood on his shoes. Forensics has it now but they're pretty sure it's a match to Nicole's,"

"He didn't even try to wash the blood off?" Castle asked in disbelief, walking up behind Beckett. She couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine at his close proximity.

"Yeah" Ryan dragged out. "Let's just say she didn't exactly pick him for his brains. We figure we just have to let him sweat a little and he'll be confessing in no time," he said before he headed into the observation room followed closely by Castle.

Esposito was about to join them but Beckett stopped him.

"How come you guys didn't call me when you picked him up," she asked.

He shrugged. "We tried. You didn't pick up," he told her before joining the others in the observation room, leaving her standing there in confusion.

Instead of following them, Beckett turned around and headed for her desk, her thoughts racing a mile a minute. Why didn't she hear her phone ring? She never missed a call. Picking up her purse from her desk, she fished around in it for a second before her face creased in confusion. It wasn't there.

She put her purse back down, and bit down on her bottom lip. She hadn't taken it out all day, not when she had gotten home nor when she had gotten to the precinct. In fact that last place she had taken it out had been, her knees went weak, Castle's place.

She braced herself against the desk, feeling suddenly lightheaded. She had a feeling she knew exactly where her phone was and unfortunately for her that place happened to be in Castle's bedroom. She must have missed it in her sweep. Crap.

How was she supposed to talk her way out of this? She couldn't exactly just go up and ask him for her phone back. It wouldn't take him two seconds to figure out exactly how it had gotten in his bedroom, and it wasn't exactly if she could just forget about it either. He would find it eventually and when he did she would be in the exact same situation. She let her head drop to her desk. In short she was screwed.

If only she had just remembered the damn phone, then she could just move on and forget that night ever happened or at least try to. She lifted her head towards the interrogation room. Now she didn't have a choice. She would simply have to go over to Castle's place and find it before he did which regrettably meant putting herself in the type of situation she had been hoping to avoid.

She took a deep breath. She could do this. She had kept her cool in front of countless murders and this was only Castle. Standing up, she bought some time straightened her clothing before forcing herself towards the observation room. Her hand had just brushed the metal doorknob when the door flew open and she nearly collided with Ryan.

"Wow," Ryan said, sidestepping her at the last second. "Hey Beckett we were just coming to get you."

Esposito came around from behind him. "You and Castle want to take this one or should we?"

She threw a quick look to the door behind them. "You guys go ahead. You were the ones who caught him so you should be the ones who interrogate him. Castle and I will watch from the next room."

Ryan and Esposito shared a quick knowing look at her answer but were already on their way into the interrogation room before she had a chance to place it.

Sighing, she gave herself an extra second to compose herself before throwing open the door and stepping inside. Castle was already in the room, sitting on the edge of the desk studying the suspect through the one way mirror when she came in, but he looked back over at her when he heard her enter.

"Hey," he said throwing her a genuine smile. "So I gather Ryan and Esposito are taking this one."

"Yeah," she answered simply, crossing her arms and leaning against the glass panel to face their suspect.

Her eyes stayed glued to the window, but he could tell she wasn't really looking at the suspect by the way she stared blankly ahead. In fact if he had to describe the look on her face right now he may have even been tempted to say that she looked almost distracted. She hadn't even realized that the sound to the interrogation room was still off. He smiled. Not only that but she was fidgeting with her hair, and shifting from side to side. Basically she knew.

It took every ounce of his self control not to ask, to let her make the first move but somehow he managed to keep quiet. Of course that didn't mean that he wasn't practically fidgeting in his seat when she finally did turn back to him.

She looked hesitant, almost nervous, but Kate Beckett wasn't the type of girl to back down. "So about tonight," she started, "looks like we will be able to wrap up this case relatively quickly." She hesitated. There was technically still time to back out but…."Do you still want to do a movie night?"

He couldn't help the grin that split across his face. "I knew it. You couldn't resist my charming personality could you?"

She rolled her eyes but didn't try hiding the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. "Sure Castle you keep telling yourself that," she shot back.

He slipped back into their normal banter effortlessly. "I don't think I'm the one who's in denial detective. You just don't want to admit that you can't control yourself enough to stay away from me."

Her smile wavered for a split second and she felt her heartbeat pickup at his words. Their back and forth was a lot less dangerous before when it hadn't been true, when they were still both in denial or at least more denial than now, and when he hadn't seen her naked.

He saw the panic flash across her eyes, realized he had overstepped, and was quick to change the subject. "So you think you'll be off work earlier enough to come over around eight?"

She swallowed the urge to back out and forced a smile. "Yeah. Sounds great."

Before she had the chance to change her mind he stood up and grabbed his coat. "I'll see you tonight then."

She looked surprised to see him leaving. "You're not going to stay to see if he confesses?"

He flicked his gaze back to the window. "I think he just did."

She spun her head back, surprised to see their suspect bent over the table, face in his hands, crying as Esposito slid him a pad and pen to write his confession. She reached over to turn the sound back on, which until that point she hadn't even realized had been off, in time to her the last of his muffled lamenting of apologies. Ryan shot her not to subtle thumbs up from the other side which she returned with a dazed nod, though she later remembered he couldn't see her.

When she turned back around to give Castle a questioning look, she was just in time to see the door swing shut behind him. She couldn't tell if the feeling that swept over her was relief or disappointment, but she didn't have long to dwell on it. A few seconds later Ryan and Esposito came walking back in triumphantly holding there signed confession.

"Got him," Esposito announced, handing her over the confession before fist bumping with Ryan.

Ryan turned back towards her, smiling proudly, but his smile soon faded when he paused long enough to look around the room.

"Hey where'd Castle go," he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

She tore her eyes away from the door behind them. "He," she paused again, searching for the right answer. "He just had to go home and take care of something I guess." She tried to sound indifferent but by the look the guys shared again when she said it she was starting to wonder if maybe she should have been more concerned about them finding out about that night than Castle.

Trying to change the subject she handed the confession back over to Esposito. "You guys go ahead and give this to the Captain and I'll start on the paper work." She brushed passed them towards the door. Over her shoulder she added, "who knows maybe we'll even be able to get out of here at a decent time tonight." She felt the butterflies creep up in her stomach at the mere thought but pushed them aside and headed for her desk. Only three hours to go before she had to be at Caste and she had a lurking feeling that they were going to drag by much more slowly than they should.

**Warning the next chapter is about to get a little steamy so on the plus side it shouldn't take me as long to finish because those types are always my favorite to write. Hope you guys like it so far and remember reviews make me write faster so if you want the next chapter up sooner then just REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey so just wanted to start out by saying that I have gotten several comments on the fact that this story takes place in season 4 because of the Cuffed reference and therefore doesn't really fit their actions but it really is supposed to take place in season 2 or 3 the Cuffed reference just sort of got away with me. Sorry about that. Also sorry I didn't get this done as quickly as I would have liked and I have three very good excuses, SAT's, midterms, and boys :P. That and let me just say it is incredibly hard to focus on writing steamy make out scenes with your grandmother sitting across from you making Christmas cookies. Anyway this is the last chapter so hope you guys like it.**

They didn't get out early or at least she didn't. Ryan and Esposito, on the other hand, had their share of paperwork finished in less than an hour and while they had offered to stay back to help her out with her half when they noticed what little progress she had made, she had shooed them away, claiming that she could finish it on her own. Honestly part of her was trying to drag it out, wanted the hand on the daunting clock hanging opposite her to freeze, and allow her an eternity in her haven, the precinct. She didn't mind the paperwork so long as it gave her any excuse to stay in her comfort zone. And of course Ryan and Esposito noticed, yet another one of the perks of working with detectives. A quirked eyebrow at her fake smile, a knowing look at her excuse, yeah they definitely knew. They seemed reluctant to leave but in the end they finally did go, knowing how futile any of their arguments would be.

It was 7:50 when she finally did finish the last of the paperwork, and she would be lying if she didn't say a part of her was a little disappointed. If only it had taken her a little longer then she could justify calling Castle and canceling, but now she knew she had to go. She had to get her phone back and tonight was as good a time as any.

She was only a few minutes late when she got to his place, but by the time she knocked on his door it was a good twenty minutes past eight. She usually wasn't one to be scared away so easily, but then again she had never found herself in a situation quite like this before. That paired with the fact that it was Castle had her pacing outside his door for a good fifteen minutes before she got up the courage to knock.

When she did the door flew open almost instantly to reveal a smiling Castle propping the door open with one hand and balancing a bowl of popcorn with the other.

She nearly jumped at the sight of him, more than a little startled at his sudden appearance. Had he been waiting there the whole time? She brushed the thought aside. He had probably just been in the kitchen making the popcorn when she had knocked.

He smirked at her reaction. "You were expecting someone else?"

" No I just-" she trailed off with a wave of her hand, dismissing his question completely.

Without hesitating he stepped aside, a silent cue for her to come inside and she brushed passed him, shrugging off her coat as she did.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized. "I got a little tied up at the precinct."

He gave her an odd smile and for a second she thought that he had seen through her lie, that he knew exactly why she was late, but if he did he didn't dwell on the subject. Really he was just glad that she hadn't backed out. He had expected her to try, had taken every precaution to stop her, including shutting off his phone so she wouldn't have been able to call and cancel. Just seeing her there alone was enough to bring a smile to his face.

"No problem," he said sliding the bowl onto the counter and turning to help her out of her coat. "Popcorn just got done anyway."

She couldn't help the shiver that coursed through her as his hand slide along her arms, slipping the jacket off her shoulders, making her mind flash back to the night before when his expert hands had taken off more than just her jacket. When she was out of it completely she instinctively took a step away from him, just needing to put some, any, space between them. He raised his eyebrows at her sudden movement but she covered it up by continuing on to the living room. He hung her coat by the door before following her.

The apartment was suspiciously quite as Kate made her way into the loft. She glanced around. "Where's your mother and Alexis," she asked, suddenly curious.

She was hoping they would have been downstairs, maybe she would even have been able to convince one of them to join them for the movie if for no other reason than to simply diffuse the awkwardness of the situation but so far the loft seemed deserted.

"Mother is taking a dramatic pause in the Hamptons for a week and Alexis is at a sleepover with her friend Julie."

Her mouth felt dry. "Oh" was all she managed to choke out. Ok so they were alone that was unexpected but not impossible.

"So Detective," he said, oblivious to her discomfort. He scooped up a stack of DVDs next to the couch and fanned them out like cards for her to see. He grinned. "What'll it be?"

They were halfway through the first movie when she realized the fatal flaw of her plan. She could have kicked herself at her own stupidity. He wasn't going to just leave her alone in his apartment long enough for her to search his room. Why would he? They were having a movie night, just the two of them. It wasn't as if there was anything else to distract him or anywhere he had to be, which would have afforded her the chance to slip away without him noticing.

She clung to hoped that maybe she hadn't left it in his room after all, that she was wrong and it was somewhere in his living room instead but so far, as she stealthily scanned the room, that possibility was becoming bleaker and bleaker. So she did the only thing could. She watched the movie or at least tried to. Mostly she spent her time running through a list of scenarios in her head that would award her the opportunity to sneak away without him noticing but so far she was coming up blank. She was so distracted that the movie Castle had chosen hadn't even registered to her, only that the few parts she had managed to pay attention for were actually pretty funny. It had something to do with space but had a western theme to it, weird but surprisingly good. Anyway Kate made a mental note to watch it again later when she could actually focus on it for more than a minute at a time.

In the end it turned out her worries were misplaced. She almost laughed at the irony when less than a few minutes before the credits rolled she looked over to find him sound asleep, slouched against the couch. Apparently her previous white lie hadn't been so far off from the truth after all.

She waited a few minutes before moving, just watching him, as if she couldn't believe her own luck. As if she expected him to wake up any second. Only after she was positive that he was really asleep did she slowly shift off the couch.

It was already late by the time the movie ended and the only light in the loft as she crept across the living room was the soft glow from the menu title repeating on the TV screen. She stole once last glance at Castle's sleeping form before slipping into his room.

His bedroom was dark, darker than it had been the previous night. Quietly, she shut the door behind her, extinguishing the dim light from the nearby room and made her way over to the bedside table in the dark. She could barely see her own two feet but she navigated through his room with ease, the layout still fresh in her mind from last night. When she got over to his bed, she flicked on the small bedside lamp, flooding the room in light.

Not wasting anytime, she made a quick survey of the room. When she didn't see her phone in any of the obvious places she checked behind the table, under the bed and even under the edges of the sheets. Only after she was positive that she had checked every possible place did she finally slump down onto the bed in defeat. It didn't make any sense. There was no other place that it could have been.

She brought her head down to her hands and rubbed her eyes, letting the frustration wash over her. She was positive that it would have been here. So caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't even notice when the bedroom door creaked open or that he had slipped into the room until he cleared his throat.

She sprung up from the bed at the sound and her hand automatically snapped to her waist to her nonexistent gun by habit.

"Castle" she breathed out when she saw him. Her hand moved from her hip to clutch her shirt above her heart, trying to calm her racing heartbeat.

He shrugged. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," he said, though not looking the slightest bit apologetic.

"Yeah well you're lucky I don't have my gun on me" she snapped back.

His eyes traveled up and down her studying her with a peculiar glint in his eyes and she was about to remind him about how him staring was creepy when she suddenly became painfully aware of the fact that she was still standing in his room, for absolutely no apparent reason.

She opened her mouth, fully prepared to stumble out the first half assed excuse she could think up. Then she saw what was in his hand. Dangling at his side, pinched loosely between his thumb and his middle finger she could see the faintest sliver of a sleek black object. Crap. He had her phone.

"I was just trying to find my phone," she blurted out, the first thing that came to her mind. "They need me back at the precinct and I had to make sure I had it before I could leave but apparently you already found it so guess I'll be on my way then."

She took a step towards him, moving her arm forward as if to take her phone but he shifted casually, tucking his arm behind his back more, shielding the phone from her view. He hummed to himself.

"Really." He pretended to think. "Because I found it this morning, before you came over."

She lowered her hand begrudgingly and scowled at him despite her attempt to remain unaffected. "That's probably because I left it here last night," she clarified trying her best to keep her tone steady, "after our other movie night."

He nodded his head as if agreeing with her, but when she tried making another reach for the phone he brought it from behind his back, moving it further away from her reach. He tapped her phone against his jaw thoughtfully. Clicking his tongue, he made a doubtful tsk sound, and shook his head.

"See but I'm still a little confused as to how it ended up in my bedroom."

Her hand feel back to her side in defeat and her head felt muddled as she tried desperately searching for an excuse. He waited patiently, a grin threatening to overtake his face, for her to come up with an answer he knew she didn't have.

She rubbed her temple. "Castle look I don't have time for your little games. I have work early tomorrow and need to go home." She hoped that the irritation in her voice was enough to convince him to back off but of course he didn't. Instead he shifted off the doorframe so that he blocked the exit completely and took a step towards her.

His gaze stayed glued to her as he stalked his way over, inching closer and closer to her with an almost predatory spark in his eyes. She certainly felt like prey. When he reached her she stepped back instinctively and hated herself for it instantly. He smirked and took a step to match hers and she couldn't help it; she stepped back again. He wasn't deterred, didn't even hesitate, before he followed her step with one of his own. If anything his smirk just grew. He followed her with a pace to match hers as she continued walking backwards. With each step he got bolder, stepped a little closer than the last time until he was scarcely a breath away.

She put her hand up, fully intending to shove him away, when one last step brought her into his bed, the backs of her knees bumping the edge of his mattress. Instinctively she fisted his shirt, a sad attempt to keep her balance, but she fell back nonetheless. The mattress dipped under her weight and he fell with her, his hands landing on either side of her and his knee landing at the edge of the mattress. Before she could get up he shifted further up the bed so that he was hovering over her. Her hand automatically dropped from his shirt, flinching away as if she had been burn.

"What if I want to play a game," he breathed, lowering himself closer to her. Her voice felt trapped in the back of her throat.

His hand moved up to cradle the side of her face but she flinched away from it, refusing to let herself be swept away by the feeling of his skin on hers. But stubborn as he was Castle wasn't deterred. He paused for a split second, smirking, then brought his hand around to her other cheek and gently tilted her head back to face him. He waited until her eyes met his before trailing his fingers along the underside of her jaw with a feather light touch, back up the side her face and finally rested his hand against her cheek.

She was breathing heavily now, her chest rising and falling deeply, pressing more firmly against him with every breath she took. She needed to calm down, needed to keep hold of what little control she had left but the way his eyes were locked intently on her, boring through her as if he could see her every thought, wasn't making it easy.

Then as if the world was conspiring against her, in a twisted turn of events he did tear his eyes away from hers. Not that it did anything to calm her racing heart considering he only tore them away to bring his gaze to her neck as he slowly bent forward and pressed his lips to her pulse point. He let them linger there, feeling her heartbeat against them before he moved down her neck. She sucked in a shaky breath as his lips peppered the side of her neck with feather light kisses but she didn't push him away, couldn't maybe. She didn't want to.

Her heart pounded in her chest, reminding her how dangerous their little game had gotten, another nagging warning for her to stop this from going any further, but the feeling of his lips on her skin was too damn intoxicating for her to pull away. Briefly it even crossed her mind if she could still call it a game when he was hovering over her with his lips latched onto her neck, his tongue swirling deliciously against her skin. She sighed. Though she was reluctant to admit it, a part of her knew that she was just kidding herself. That their little game had ended exactly one night ago when his lips had first crashed into hers. Why else would he be acting so bold?

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks and her eyes flew open.

"When did you remember," she asked so quietly that at first he wasn't even sure if she had really said it.

He stopped his ministrations on her neck and pulled back to look at her. She was biting her lower lip and had her eyes screwed shut, refusing to look at him, almost as if anticipating the blow of his answer.

"Kate," he breathed, a silent plea for her to look at him, but true to her nature she stubbornly kept her eyes closed.

So he bent down and kissed her, languidly massaging her abused lip from her teeth until he felt her lips respond beneath his.

Her eyes fluttered open as he pulled away and she was met with the sight of his deep blue eyes staring down at her with an intensity she had never seen before. He brushed his thumb against her cheek.

"I could never forget you," he whispered.

The mere tenderness of his voice, caused her breath to catch in the back of her throat. That and the look in his eyes, the look of complete adoration, of acceptance left her incapably of even the simplest speech. She almost gave in right then, almost let herself melt into his embrace, accept his love completely, but she was too good at running for that.

He saw the flash in her eyes, the faintest hint of doubt that for a second made him think that he'd convinced her, that she would stay, but the next thing he knew she was shifting away. He hadn't even fully process that she was leaving until she had already managed to slip out from underneath him. When it fully hit him he twisted around towards her and sat up on the edge of the bed just as she was making her retreat for the door.

"I have to go." She told him, scooping up her bag as she did. Her voice was desperate, almost like she was trying to convince herself more than him, but she scarcely made it two steps before Castle's hand was on her wrist, stopping her dead in her tracks. The bag slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a soft thud that echoed throughout the room.

She was barely able to get out a faint protest, his name a whisper on her lips, an unspoken plea to let her go before he was whipping her around, tugging her back towards him. She lost her balance, wasn't expecting him to stop her. As she fell against him one of her knees fell onto the bed beside him, just brushing the outside of his thigh and her hands fell to his chest. She felt the air whoosh out of her lungs at his sudden moment and she caught herself less than an inch away from him.

She tried standing back up but he was quicker. One of his hands grasped her other leg, the one she was still standing on, behind her knee and pulled it to the bed on the side of his other leg so that she was now straddling him.

"No" he stated firmly and she was shocked by his assertiveness, shocked that he had even stopped her in the first place. Usually when she ran away he gave her the space she needed, never pushing any further, but this time he had an odd look of determination set on his face. Facing murderers scared her less than that look.

Abandoning the spot on her hip, he hooked his fingers in the belt loops of her jeans on either side of her hips and tugged her further onto his lap so that her chest was flush against his. One of his hand snaked around her waist, effectively trapping her against him while the other one cupped her cheek to force her gaze back to his. They were close enough that she had no choice but to rest her hands on his shoulder. When she turned back to face him his lips were less than a heartbeat away from hers.

"Why do you keep running," he murmured, his hot breath hitting her lips.

She felt her heartbeat increase and her mouth go dry. Did she even have an answer? Her eyes flickered to the side, looking for a way out but almost as if anticipating her panic his arm tightened around her waist, taking away any notion she had about running.

"Kate" he warned.

She sighed and turned back to him in resignation. "Castle look it's not a good idea. We work together, we're partners. That's how it needs to stay and," her voice wavered for a second, "and I can't be another one of your one night stands."

She had used the harshest voice she could muster but when she dragged her eyes back to him he didn't look the slightest bit affected. His eyes sparkling back at her with poorly masked amusement.

"You do realize that you're the one who made it a one night stand by leaving, right?" he pointed out clearly trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It wouldn't have been if you hadn't remembered" he shot back but even as she said it, she realized how ridiculous it sounded, a realization that was further cemented when she saw the amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"What," she defended. "If you hadn't found that phone then it would have all gone back to normal. Things wouldn't have been any different. They wouldn't have changed."

He smirked, noting the way her cheeks had reddened well past their previous exertion. "You underestimated my abilities as a detective."

She couldn't help the roll of her eyes. "You're not a detective," she reminded him. She tried her best to remain serious but failed spectacularly to hide the hint of amusement that bled through.

His grin widened playfully, and he shrugged. Oh he was definitely getting to her. "It's either that or you're admitting that a civilian outsmarted you."

She tried to keep a serious face but seeing his smile, she knew she couldn't. It was just so typical Castle. She rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming Castle."

"Oh I will but," he let his hungry eyes travel her body, "my dreams about you don't involve that much talking."

She shivered, couldn't help it, and suddenly all she wanted to do was to shut up him and his intoxicating voice up with her lips. His gaze stayed lock with hers, watching her reaction, and she was sure that he was going to kiss her again but then his eyes turned serious.

"Is that really what you want," he suddenly asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" She quirked an eyebrow playfully. "For you to keep dreaming?"

For the first time all night she saw the faintest hint of uncertainty flicker in his eyes before he diverted his gaze. He lowered his voice."For things not to change."

The smile slipped off her face and shattered on the ground. She didn't want to go back to being serious; she wanted to brush things off with banter like they usually did. And maybe she could have made a joke, brushed off his question but something about the look in his eyes told her that that approach would be pointless.

"What about you," She asked." Did you want it to be a one night stand?" She knew she was taking the easy way out, deflecting, but she couldn't risk putting herself out there. As much as she wanted to she just couldn't.

He, on the other hand, didn't hesitate before answering. "Wouldn't be here if I did."

She fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't expect him to be so blunt, it was Castle after all, she just wasn't expecting him to sound so sure, so sincere. She opened her mouth as if to respond but the words were caught in her throat. She closed her mouth lamely.

"You made a mistake by leaving," he stated firmly.

Taking a deep breath she tried unsuccessfully to calm her racing heart. She should have stayed quiet, should have let him just keep talking but the words just spilled out of her mouth before could stop them.

"I couldn't risk staying," she admitted. "Maybe if I didn't have feelings for the person then it would be fine but if I'm in love with then I just can't, ok Castle. I can't risk it. I'm sorry." When she finished her rant she looked up at him expecting to see him disappointed but when her gaze met his he was smiling.

"You love me"

Her mouth hung agape uselessly as she realized her slip up. But she was done panicking, done running, done hiding. She wanted to live. She wanted him. So she held his gaze, and without wavering said. "Yes."

Any doubts she may have had about her admission melted away when she saw him break into a smile and she was left feeling remarkably flamboyant. Practically glowing at her answer, he leaned forward, covering her face with small kisses, smiling against her skin with each one. She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up her throat as she playfully pushed him back. He obediently pulled back still smiling and cupped her face.

"I love you too Kate." He whispered "So much more than you could ever know." He brushed back a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

The relief of hearing those words had her smiling back at him like a love-struck teenager and she couldn't help it. She kissed him.

It felt like fireworks.

This time there was no fear, no surprise as her lips parted against his, more boldly than before. Almost instantly she opened her mouth to him and he didn't need a second invitation before his tongue was stroking hotly against hers. Her hands migrated up his shoulders to the nape of his neck to play with his hair, and she couldn't help the rock of his hips when she felt him moan into her mouth. His hands still at her hips, he slowly lowered them back onto the bed until they were laying parallel against it. Abandoning the kiss, she sucked his bottom lip between hers, nipping at the soft flesh and then soothing it over with the quick tip of her tongue. He had always wondered what it might be like to feel her to bite his lip the same way he had watched her bite hers. It was better than he had imagined.

As his palms rubbed up her sides, causing her shirt to bunch up further above her stomach, her hands traveled to the top of his shirt and started undoing the complicated line of buttons down the center. Once she had flicked open the last button, her hands spread against his chest, exploring the newly exposed expanse of skin now available to her.

Then all of the sudden she pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. He gave her a questioning look. "You were never really asleep were you?"

He gave her a boyish smile. "oops?"

He bit back a moan when she sat up, causing her weight to press fully against his hips. Dragging a finger down his bare chest, her teeth sunk mischievously into her lower lip as her fingers traveled lower and felt his muscles become taunt beneath her fingertips. At the boarder of his jeans, she stopped her downward descent and skimmed her nails along the edge, reaching the side of hips before trailing them back across his stomach. Her fingers circled the button of his jeans then flicked it open, reviving in the sharp intake of breath he made, and hooked a finger under his belt below.

She leaned in close and purred seductively, "that fine I'm sure I can think up a few ways," she gave a sharp tug against his belt and he made a sound somewhere between a yelp and a moan, "to get back you."

His hands found a place at her hips again and he waggled his eyebrows. "And I will gladly accept any punishment you deem fit."

"Castle," she smiled wickedly, `"Shut up." Then she dove for him again, attacking his lips with hers until his smile melted away in a needy moan. And finally for the first time all night Castle stopped talking.

It was still night when she woke up, and the first thing she felt was the weight of her arm against her abdomen. This time she didn't need five minutes, a minute or even a second for her memory to come back. It hit her instantly, memories streaming nonstop in mind. She waited for the panic to follow like it had the previous night, waited for the urge to flee to hit her like usual, but it never came. In fact she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this relaxed. She shifted deeper into the mattress and felt his arm tighten around her.

Letting out a small chuckle, she tilted her head to drop a delicate kiss to the inside of his elbow. He responded with a lazy sigh as his fingers traced small circles against her bare arm.

She smiled against him. "You know Castle holding someone against their will is still a crime. Are you trying to get me to arrest you?"

He chuckled, snuggling in closer to her, and placed a lazy kiss against the curve of her neck.

"No but if you hinting that you want to use your handcuffs, I certainly have no objections." His voice was heavy with sleep but she could still practically hear the smirk laced in his tone.

She fell silent for a few minutes simply enjoying his presence and the warmth of his body pressed against hers before she spoke again "So is there any particular reason you have me in a death grip." She teased.

When he didn't respond right away, she figured he had fallen asleep until she felt him murmur sleepily against her neck. "Couldn't risk waking up without you again,"

Her heart skipped a beat. She turned around in his arms to find him staring back at her. His eyes were heavy with sleep but there was still an intensity to them, his emotions hidden in their blue depths. They read like an open book. Traces of adoration, contentment, and love occupied the majority of the vast pools of blue, but there was still something else, something past that. Fear. The lingering trace of fear that she wasn't really his, that she would still run, from this, from him. Her stomach lurched at the sight. She had put that fear in his eyes, had been the cause of his uncertainty, but she was going to take it away.

Trailing her fingertips along his arm, her nails gently scrapped against his skin and she felt him shiver at her touch. His eyes fell down to her hands. She waited for his reluctant gaze to travel back to met hers before she brought her hand up to caress the side his jaw. He leaned into her touch, humming appreciatively. She smiled softly at him. "There's no chance I won't be here in the morning."

In an instant he had her rolled over, his hands pressing into the bed on either side of her shoulders to support himself as he hovered over her. She rested her arms comfortable around his waist and threaded her fingers together at the curve of his spine, not at all affected by his sudden movement. He smiled down at her, his eyes shining with hope even as he struggled against the sleep that threatened to overcome him again at any moment. Leaning forward his cheek brushed hers and she couldn't help the light gasp that fell from her parted mouth when his lips brushed the soft skin under her ear. She sucked in a breath as his lips fluttered up the edge of her ear, his hot breath coming in spurts, curling against her skin.

"Promise." He murmured against the shell of her ear, his voice so raw so breathy that her eyes dilated from the sheer pulsing need that the sound of his voice incited. She blinked, fighting to stay focused, to not just give into the urge to kiss away his doubts, kiss away his thoughts completely.

Instead she nuzzled her nose into his neck, pulling him down to her, closer than when he had been holding her. Her whole body pressed into his, molding perfectly against him and just before she brought her lips up to meet his she whisper, "Always."

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